


Your slender throat sewn shut, becoming a voice of silk thread

by nazuniichans



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-07-24 20:08:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20020291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nazuniichans/pseuds/nazuniichans
Summary: eso round 2 prompt"i want to hear your voice"au where nazuna and shu actually work out nazuna losing his voice.





	Your slender throat sewn shut, becoming a voice of silk thread

Nazuna nervously stood outside of the Lights Music classroom, hand shakily hovering above the doorknob and his heartbeat was beating loud in his ears. He had made plans before coming here. First, he asked one of the teachers if he could borrow the music room for a couple of hours, who happily obliged to Nazuna’s request. He was in _Valkyrie_ , after all; they stood at the top of the school and had special privileges. Second, he asked Shu to meet him here via text, who also happily obliged. Lastly, he prepared himself for the possible turmoil that was about to unfold. He wasn’t sure how this was going to go, considering he hasn’t been speaking that often, ashamed of his voice. But… he hated how things were starting to go. He almost couldn’t stand not singing with _Valkyrie_ anymore. He wanted to sing. He wanted to be an idol. 

With a deep breath, Nazuna carefully pushed open the door and peeked inside. Shu still wasn’t there, of course; He had arrived early, after all. 

Setting his bag down carefully on one of the seats, Nazuna moved to strip his blazer off and lazily drape it over his bag. He felt sweaty just thinking about talking to Shu about it... About communicating with him. While he trusted Shu knew what was best, he had his qualms about just using a recording of his voice. He was still performing, sure, and if he had just used a recording of his voice, it would be much easier to focus on dancing… but… it didn’t feel right. 

Nazuna carefully went through his bag to pull out the same music sheets he had been practicing on the roof every day now. He cleared his throat in preparation for Shu, wanting to at least tune it right and have himself somewhat ready, in case the need for Nazuna to prove himself would come about. A soft sigh left his lips as the soft melody of Sajou no Roukaku left his throat, a hand over his neck as the blonde hummed out lyrics, echoing softly off the walls of the classroom. It _wasn’t_ the same. It never would be again. His voice was scratchy and horrid, yet he tried to belt through the harmonies and poured his soul into his warmup. 

He held the music sheet close to his chest, closing his eyes to hum along with the lyrics. The dances and tune automatically were there in the back of his mind, his feet lightly dancing across the room, one arm extended to do half of the movements he was supposed to do. 

“ _In the beautiful museum that lies atop the illusion of sand, the singing voice of a doll without strings.. resonates through the silence.._ ” He ends softly, back facing away from the door. Nazuna frowned deeply then, head hanging in shame, clutching at his throat. It sounded… so... _bad._ His heart broke a little at the realization, feeling it inside his chest even. As much as he’s been practicing... he’ll never… meet Shu’s standards again. There was no way. 

  


_This would just be a waste of Shissan’s time,_ he thought. _He’s so busy taking care of me, taking care of Kagehira... Making our outfits, making our lives perfect… maybe I should just do what I’m told. I don't want to burden him even more… Mentor would just… be even more stressed if he had to worry about me wanting to sing._

Head messy, Nazuna looked down at the sheet bitterly and felt his hands crumble up the piece of paper, almost angrily tossing it to the side. 

_I could never be an idol with a broken voice like this._

Raising a hand to his face, Nazuna brushed away the tears that were beginning to form with his sweater and turned quickly on his heel, making a move towards his bag to text Shu and tell him not to come, but a figure at the door stopped every single movement of his. He felt his whole body tense up immediately, feet rooted to the floor, unmoving. Not even a single breath escaped Nazuna’s throat. Big, red teary eyes stared at Shu, shocked and all the words he could possibly want to say escaping him. It was a long minute. Violet held crimson for what seemed like an eternity, neither of them making any movement to move. Shu’s eyes were also wide with shock—probably disgust—and Nazuna could barely hold himself upright at how _embarrassing_ it was to have had sung that in front of Shu. He felt like throwing up, and his stomach knotting up only proved his point that he was ready to hurl. 

Nazuna clamped his mouth shut and finally tore his gaze away from Shu's. He hurriedly went over to the chair he had placed his belongings on, reaching to grab for his blazer and bag, but Shu took several strides over to grasp his wrist and ceased every movement of his. The blonde gasped and held his breath, frozen for a moment, before turning his face away, unable to look him in the eye anymore. 

“...Nito.” 

Nazuna closed his eyes tightly, not wanting to listen to the scolding that was going to come after Shu hearing that horrible performance of his. He bit on his tongue and pushed the tears that wanted to well up back, making another move to grab at his things with his other hand. Shu also grabbed that wrist, tender and cradling both of them almost. He still didn’t want to meet the sovereign's expression. 

“Nito. Please look at me.” 

That was the last thing Nazuna wanted to do. His gaze strayed to the ground before unwillingly listening to the command, raising his eyes to meet Shu’s intense but sympathetic expression. He didn't know what was worse; Having Shu pity him or having Shu being disgusted with him. He bit down on his bottom lip wordlessly before adverting it again, squeezing his eyes shut. Shu sighed. 

“You… you want to sing, right?” Shu urged quietly, gently clasping both of Nazuna’s hands in his own and simply holding them now. He had a frown on his face, but his tone wasn't angry at all. Not a single drop of anger was present. Although the touches and tone were gentle, Nazuna was hesitant still. Even if Shu wasn’t disgusted, he surely was. He already felt awful that Shu was already getting so concerned over just this alone, and he hadn’t even spoken yet. The blonde remained silent, gaze looking elsewhere but not making any movements to pull away. “Nito.. please speak to me. I cannot read minds.”

The shorter of the two seemed even more disgruntled at that, a pout formally splaying across his lips now, eyes teary. Shu sighed again. Nito was always so stubborn. Shu went to open his mouth to say something, but Nazuna surprisingly beat him to it. Quiet, but he was speaking.

“It’s fine. I was… just prwacticing..” Nazuna admits, keeping his real intentions at bay. Shu visibly relaxed at that, but a frown remained. He chose his next words carefully, wanting to prompt more out of him.

“Nito... “ Shu began, releasing one of his hands to gently tilt the boy’s chin up. He breathed out lovingly at the sight of those crimson eyes, brighter and more beautiful than any sculpted gemstone. His face was a little red and his eyes were puffy, tears in the corners of his eyes. His blonde eyebrows were knitted together and his lips were formed into a pout, cheeks halfway puffed out. Shu would take more time to appreciate Nito in such a state if it weren’t for the fact the boy was certainly upset and _crying._ He pushed his selfish indulgent thoughts before cradling Nazuna’s face gently, his slender fingers appreciating how soft his skin was. “I may be an unsightly fool at times… but I am not stupid. You are crying.”

Nazuna huffed but made no attempt to pull his face away, his pout remaining and his eyes staying distant. 

“I-It’s sewiously nothin’! You jusch shcared me!” He protested before his eyebrows knitted up more, shaking his head. “I.. I was’h gonna text you and tell you not to come… but I guesh it’s too late for that.” Shu shuffled a little where he was standing, before swiping his thumbs underneath Nito’s eyes, the stray tears gone. 

“Well… I am glad I came. We have unit activities to do, Nito.” 

Nazuna’s eyebrows knitted together, but his gaze was on Shu now, eyes curious. 

“What… what do you mean by that? Mika-chin isn’t even--”

**“I want to hear your voice.”**

Nazuna inhaled shakily at that, reaching up to pry Shu’s hands away from his cheeks now.

“W-What?”

Shu gave him a small smile. Though his hands had been pulled away, Shu moved to gently trail his fingers through Nazuna’s long hair, his hand smoothing down the blonde strands.

“I want to hear your voice, Nito. I wasn’t able to catch much of what it has become… but…” Shu gently pushed his hair behind his ear, eyes fond. “If Valkyrie wishes to be at the top… we need you to sing _with_ us. You want to sing too… don't you, Nito?”

Nazuna stopped breathing all together with those words, his eyes darting up to Shu and to examine his expression. His voice certainly was serious, and he was looking at him with plenty of raw emotions. _So why was it so hard to accept that Shu wanted to help?_

The blonde thought about it for a moment as Shu tenderly cradled the side of his head and tenderly kept moving his hair behind his ears, the fly-aways being smoothed down as well. Nazuna enjoyed the touches, appreciated them. Shu was always so kind and gentle with him, even on the worst of worst days, he never raised his voice at Nazuna and always praised him. He truly valued him _that_ much. He didn’t want to let him down in the slightest. _Afterall, Mentor works day after day polishing his artwork and making it as pristine and perfect as possible. I don't want to taint it… I don't want to taint Valkyrie… I cant… As much as I want to sing, I can’t!_

Nazuna squeezed his eyes shut tightly, feeling tears gather up once more. A futile attempt to push them back. Nazuna escaped from Shu’s grasp and turned away, back towards him again. He could only inhale deeply, allowing the tears to freely spill now. The pink-haired boy had one hand extended towards Nazuna, confusion and sadness written all over his face. Shu took a moment to think things through. Why… despite his efforts, was Nito denying his instructions to sing? He had indeed wanted Nazuna to not sing for the upcoming live and the performance would be of top-notch, especially for such a high ranking live… but has his strive for perfection wounded his dearest doll’s already crumbling confidence? 

_Ah... that was it, wasn’t it?_

“...It seems I have caused you quite the grief with your voice, have I not..?” Shu speaks quietly, hand holding his chin in his hand. “..Hmhm..” Shu attempted to find the words to say to ease Nazuna’s worries while also speaking the truth, but it was rather difficult. “Your voice needs work. While it is indeed not the same nor does it hold the same grace as before... It is not broken. I believe we can work with it.”

Nazuna’s head snapped up at that, eyes wide with shock, but staying silent. Shu would never quite get used to this uncomfortable silence Nito held now… While he could admire his beauty far more with his mouth shut, it surely was lonely to not have Nito bite back at him. The sovereign then lowered his hand and paced across the room towards Nazuna... He didn’t touch the boy but picked up the crumpled piece of paper, unfolding it carefully. _So Nito was singing that song..._ With the paper in tow, Shu crossed past the piano, his fingers lightly running across the polished surface before promptly reaching for the violin case. Carefully opening it and pulling out the instrument, Shu sat down on the piano stool. He crossed his legs and positioned the crumbled paper on the music sheet standee in front of him, squinting at it. It was an inconvenience it was so crumbled but… 

“You do not have to sing the whole thing. I will start from the top, and sing at a range you find comfortable. I need to see where your abilities lie.”

_He’s… serious._

Nazuna’s crimson eyes glanced at Shu from the side, fingers twitching. The other wasn’t giving him a choice here. He _wanted_ Nazuna to sing. Shu positioned the violin under his chin, tuning it a little bit. He raised the fiddle to the strings and played the first tender notes of Sajou no Roukaku, his graceful digits drumming on the fingerboard. Nazuna inhaled deeply and started singing the first lines.

_“A doll, adorned with the threads of time…”_

As Shu played and Nazuna sang, the sovereign’s eyes slowly got wider as the song progressed. He listened carefully to the breaks in Nazuna’s voice, what notes were too high for him now, and where he seemed to thrive at. It seemed as if he and Mika had a similar range, at least. The high notes would cause his changing, fragile voice to break harshly and the lower notes would be a little rough, but still have a nice melody to it. This would… surely be a change. To be honest, Shu was still hesitant about trying to train Nazuna’s voice so close to DreFes… but Nazuna’s body language was now relaxed as he sang, facing Shu a little more. His small mouth was parted as smooth notes bellowed from his slender throat, and Shu just closed his eyes towards the end of the song, focusing on the way his fingers moved along the neck of the violin, content with just the fact Nito felt comfortable enough to sing to the end. Once the song came to an end, Shu lowered the instrument and placed it back in its case. 

“Nito, I would like you to sing every part but your own. I will be singing your lyrics.”

“O...Oshi-san..” Nazuna stammered a little, face slightly red in embarrassment. He couldn’t tell how good or bad it was. Shu’s face still held that same seriousness and while it was easy to assume Shu was disappointed, his face showed no disgust. He pushed on and wanted Nazuna to sing _again._

“One.. two... Three..” Shu counted down, standing in front of Nazuna and surveying him. Nazuna shyly raised a hand to his throat and started again.

_“A doll, adorned with the threads of time, dwells..”_

_“In a beautiful museum that lies on the sand of an hourglass,”_ Shu kept his pitch as he sang Nazuna’s part, and his crimson eyes widened. 

_“The key to the showcase... Is now covered in rust..”_ Nazuna sang back, eyes strictly on Shu and Shu alone. 

_“...And to even the fact that it has broken..”_

_“..it remains oblivious…”_

Nazuna found it easier to find his pitch with Mika and Shu’s lower voices, a smile easily coming to his lips now. Shu noticed and his heart stopped at a glimpse of his precious Nito’s smile, so distracted he almost missed the chorus. 

_“T-The time that had been frozen in place falls away, like sand… And the memories that had been sealed away in its grains, slowly melt away into the sunset…”_

…

“ _Assuring our mutual destruction..”_ Nazuna sang his line this time an hour later. It took Shu a couple of seconds to follow up, playing the ending to Sei Shounen Yuugi on the violin before settling it down, a large and proud smile set on his lips. He couldn’t be happier with the small progress they had made today. Nazuna had learned to not strain his voice to higher pitches and instead adapted to Shu and Mika’s lower tones, which seemed to be easier on his throat. 

“Hou hou..~ Très bien, Nito!” Shu praised loudly. Nazuna tried to hide his smile as he turned a little away from Shu, obviously flustered, and it didn’t help Shu decided to start clapping either. He huffed softly and glared at the other a little. 

“S-Shissan… there’s... no n-need to get so dramatic... my voice still needs a lot of work.” Nazuna tried to protest, but Shu was over to him in an instant, cupping his face tenderly. The blonde made a small noise, taken aback by the sudden movement. 

“Nito... My precious Nito… you are so wonderful and hardworking, hm?” He stroked over the blonde’s rosy cheeks, earning another noise of protest for him, but Nazuna made no movements to pull away; The only thing he did was reach up and grasp Shu’s wrists, silently holding them. “This is why you are my most precious doll… even after you lost hope of healing your voice, even when… I probably put you into a state of shame… you still managed to sing for me and show me your beautiful voice. I shall treasure you forever and ever. My beautiful Nito..” 

Nazuna whined at that, looking down and away with those dramatic words but found himself closing his eyes into the gentle ruffles that Shu was fluffing into his long hair. He silently looked up through his eyelashes after a moment, catching Shu’s gaze and then quickly averting it. Nazuna could only blush deeper before pulling Shu’s hands away, pouting.

“S-Stop saying such dramatic things.. Jeez... Shissan…” Nazuna thumbed along the top of Shu’s hand, biting his lower lip. “Thank.. Thank you, Oshi-san… for not giving up on me.” He said shyly, not wanting to look Shu in the eye. It’s a good thing he didn't either, because Shu seemed to short circuit with that, eyes gawking at Nito so tenderly holding his hands. He could only swallow before chuckling quietly, trying to straighten his back.

“O-Of course, Nito. You are my finest creation, I--” Shu was cut off at Nazuna reaching up on his tiptoes and pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. The blonde quickly whizzed past the sovereign now, leaving him blinking and attempting to process what had just happened.

“C-Can we meet here again tomorrow? Maybe with Kagehira?” Nazuna asked from the other side of the room, blazer sliding over his shoulders. He tried to face away, his ears even red at this point. 

“I—Nito—You—” Shu tried, a hand reaching out towards the blonde who was already making his way towards the door. Nazuna gently held onto the handle, shuffling a little in his spot. He didn’t want to leave Shu’s side. He wanted to keep singing with him… but Nazuna felt like if he stayed any longer, feelings that he had bottled up would resurface and get in the way of his hard work. 

“Yes? Great. I’ll... I’ll see you then, Shissan.” Nazuna stammered out before leaving Shu in the center of the room, eyeing the door with a dumbfounded expression. He slowly raised a hand to his cheek, the skin where Nito had kissed warm to the touch, almost as if it was on fire. Almost as pink as his hair, Shu collected himself and huffed. 

“Hmph.. _non_!” With a single wave of his hand, he turned on his heel and began to stalk towards the door, mind running a million miles a second.

_Surely… this way… Valkyrie will not be on a path of ruin…_

_Nito… Kagehira… my beloved Valkyrie… my youth._

_I will protect us._

**Author's Note:**

> this was loosely based off houdi's comic here > https://twitter.com/houdidesu/status/1051279661496496129?s=20


End file.
